Have you heard about Finnegan the Squirrel?

[CatWoman]

:loveya:


For about as long as she can remember, Debby Cantlon says, friends and strangers have brought her animals in need. So it wasn't much of a surprise when someone asked her if she'd care for a newborn squirrel found at the base of a tree somewhere near Renton.


Debby Cantlon, who plans to release Finnegan (the young squirrel) back into the wild, bottle-fed the infant squirrel after it was brought to her house.


When Cantlon took in the tiny creature and began caring for him, she found herself with an unlikely nurse's aide: her pregnant Papillon dog, Mademoiselle Giselle.


Finnegan was resting in a nest in a cage just days before Giselle was due to deliver her puppies.


Cantlon and her husband watched as the dog dragged the squirrel's cage twice to her own bedside before she gave birth.


Cantlon was concerned, yet ultimately decided to allow the squirrel out of his cage and the inter-species bonding began.


Finnegan rides a puppy pit of sorts, burrowing in for warmth after feeding, and eventually working his way beneath his new litter mates.


Two days after giving birth, mama dog Giselle, allowed Finnegan to nurse; family photos and a videotape show her encouraging him to suckle alongside her litter of five pups.


Now, Finnegan mostly uses a bottle, but still snuggles with his "siblings" in a pit of puppies, rolling atop their bodies and sinking in deeply for a nap.


Finnegan and his new litter mates, five Papillion puppies, get along together as if they were meant to.


Finnegan naps after feeding.


Finnegan makes himself at home with his new litter mates, nuzzling nose-to-nose for a nap after feeding.

What a site to behold, puppy dogs and Finnegan the squirrel, happy together.

[graywarrior]

1. That is the cutest thing I've ever seen.

[flvegan]

2. Now, if those were pit bulls...

:popcorn:

[CatWoman]

3. you need a spanking!!!

:spank:

[MonkeyFunk]

4. Thank you CatWoman

that is just pee-your-pants adorable.

I love squirrels, and Finnegan is a real beauty!

[Parche]

5. Squirrel

Does he talk and tell squirrel jokes? :shrug: :hi:


OH MEOW

[CatWoman]

7. where the hell is Blue-Jay?

the resident "expert" on squirrels :)

[redwitch]

6. what a lovely mama dog!

The maternal instinct, when it is turned up all the way, well, it's just wonderful, that's what. Wipes away a tear of happiness. What darling babies too, all of them and especially the squirrelly guy!

[Hell Hath No Fury]

8. Man I hope she doesn't STILL plan...

on releasing Finnegan back in the wild -- it has become bonded with people and dogs, not a good thing for a wild squirrel. :scared:

Other than that, they are all ridiculously cute together. :)

[CatWoman]

10. I'm concerned about her releasing him, too

I hope she keeps him :hi:

[Hell Hath No Fury]

14. My sister rehabs professionally...

and she has a menagerie of unreleaseables -- some due to medical problems, some because they became too familiar with people. It's a real danger when working with those critters.

She once worked with two baby bobcats that were determined to be unreleasable -- boy, did she ever have w-a-y too much fun wrestling with them, giving them belly rubs, and generally loving on them too much. Until they reached a point where things would get a little out of hand. Like when they would try to gnaw her skull. :D

Yup, the first time ol' Finnegan tried to nurse off a dog out in the world, it could get very ugly. She needs to keep him or find a wildlife education center to take him in.

[CatWoman]

15. Before I posted this, I checked this story on Snopes

and found out that the caregiver has cancer, and she finds rescue work therapeutical.

I wonder how many other critters she has running around :)

[GOPisEvil]

9. My mom, dad and I nursed a baby squirrel. We got no news coverage.

Of course, we didn't also have a litter of puppies to make it newsworthy. :eyes:

We had to let the squirrel go, but she would come back occasionally.

[CatWoman]

11. *can't resist*

squirrel's like nuts, right?

:rofl:

[GOPisEvil]

13. So that's why I would end up buried in the back yard.

:hi:

[BarenakedLady]

12. Awwww

That is so damn cute.

:loveya: